The Future of the Great Basin Anthropological Conference

Little Sahara Utah, Photo Credit: Bob Wick - BLM.

Dear members of the GBAA and attendees of the GBAC, I’m writing to convey to you the results of the April board of directors meeting of the GBAA.  In that meeting, the board addressed the dire financial circumstances facing the GBAA and how to rectify these circumstances.  I’m writing to you to make clear what these circumstances are and the methods the board has developed to improve our fiscal situation. Historically, the GBAA has been funded solely by proceeds from the biennial GBAC meetings.  Below-average attendance at both the Salt Lake City meetings and the Las Vegas meetings resulted in net losses for each meeting. Combined with yearly costs associated with maintaining the GBAA website, paying for email services and maintaining a PayPal account (these average ~$1200/yr), the first down payment for the upcoming GBAC in Bend, Oregon ($2500), costs associated with postponing the Las Vegas GBAC due to Covid (we fell behind a whole year in income due to having to postpone the meetings), and other small costs like bank fees, we are currently left with a budget of only about $1300.  We need to pay the venue in Bend another $5000 by the end of the year to…

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